THE MORNING SKATE — A Return to Some Normalcy (and Visnovsky update)

January 7th, 201312:01 am

Kevin Schultz

Well, we’re back to some sense of normal. I guess normal in the sense that we can get back to talking about what’s happening on the ice rather than in a asylum meeting room in midtown. It feels weird, it’s been too long, but it feels good.

The owners and players have still yet to vote on the CBA, which means everything is not finalized yet. At this point, it seems like those votes should, hopefully, be a formality. The majority will likely vote based on the recommendations of their leaders and barring anything crazy, we should be good to go and have hockey soon.

Recommended reading about the new CBA from the best hockey writing minds is as follows: Botta, Mirtle and LeBrun.

(Frighteningly, Mirtle points out that if the NHL keeps up its pace of growth, the cap floor could skyrocket within five years time.)

Also worth reading if you need a refresher, check out Lighthouse’s rundown of what happened this off-season. In summation; the Isles signed Brad Boyes (winger), Matt Carkner (big defender), and Eric Boulton (puncher) while PA Parenteau bolted to Colorado and Matt Martin was re-signed for four years. Lubomir Visnovsky was acquired via trade and defender Griffin Reinhart was drafted fourth overall. Consider yourself now ready for hockey!

On the subject of Visnovsky, he had an interesting quote that is surprisingly readable via Google translate at sport.sme.sk, which is notably not a team-run website:

“I got an offer to stay until the end of the season in Slovan. Consider buying it and do not know how I should answer it. Yet I have to deal with my agent and overseas employers. Very strongly about it I think. While I see if it’s possible. Do not want to do Islanders anything behind your back. discuss and we’ll see how it goes, “said Lubomir Visnovsky.

That quote sounds like a guy who wants to stay where he is but understands he has obligations. Slovan is his hometown team and surely there are strong emotions there, but in this quote he’s literally saying he doesn’t want to do anything behind the Islanders’ back.

What this whole situations seems like is a team making it widely known that they’re going to do what they can to keep their player, including writing articles about it. All that in an effort to say to the fans, ‘hey we’re really trying to keep him, seriously! We’re even making offers!‘